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Too Many Cooks
RD: There have been rumors that RCA Records head Clive Davis didn't like this album.
Clarkson: There've been a lot of cooks in the kitchen on all three of my albums. Everybody wants a success, so that's great. On the other hand, the kitchen gets real crowded. They hated "Miss Independent" on my first album. It was No. 1 for six weeks, then they got behind it. They hated "Breakaway." The song I wrote that they hated the most was "Because of You." I fought and fought for it, it became successful and they finally got behind it. I'm not complaining. I'll just say no until I get my way, and I did.
RD: So the album is coming out the way you wanted it?
Clarkson: Perfectly the way I wanted. It's my favorite thing I've done. It could sell two million or 12 million. I don't care. I just want people to hear it, instead of 100-year-old executives making decisions on what's good for pop radio. It's people my age who listen to it. My gut hasn't been wrong yet, so why wouldn't I continue to follow it?
RD: Are you angry that you've been second-guessed?
Clarkson: My parents didn't like me to complain. My stepdad, who is very spiritual, would say to put yourself in the other person's shoes before you get mad. So I'm good at stepping back.
RD: Let's talk about your childhood. You were a tomboy.
Clarkson: Very much so. I hated clothes, makeup, everything girly.
RD: You got naked a lot.
Clarkson: My mom would be embarrassed because at age one or two, I'd just take off my clothes and run through people's yards. I still hate clothes. Photo shoots and wardrobe fittings -- they're the death of me. I just don't care. It's not my thing.
RD: Your parents divorced when you were little, right?
Clarkson: First set, yeah. We're the American family here. There were two divorces. I was 19 the second time.
RD: Was that traumatic?
Clarkson: This is going to sound funny, but I wasn't sad about it. The first time, I knew my mother wasn't happy, and neither was my father. When you're six, everything's so simple.
RD: I thought music was your safe place, but maybe you didn't need a safe place.
Clarkson: I started writing because I would bottle it all up and try to be everything for everyone. And one or two days out of the year, I'd just blow up -- crying uncontrollably. My mom told me, "You got to write in a journal." I am so much more open when I'm writing. It just gets right out of me. Then it turned into music and lyrics.
RD: Your family also had a hard time financially and argued about money.
Clarkson: That was always a huge issue. I know money doesn't solve everything, but it solves a whole lot.
RD: How are you with your own money?
Clarkson: I have saved and saved, and I don't have to work another day. When I won Idol and started working with a business manager, she asked, "What do you want?" I was like, I don't ever want to have to make a decision because I need money. So we accomplished that two years ago, and I'm set.
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